


Wipe Out the Light

by moonflowers



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kisses, M/M, No point even tagging that it's always fluff, Smoking, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-07 22:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14091165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonflowers/pseuds/moonflowers
Summary: Three little one-shots about boys in the snow.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's starting to warm up a little bit here now, but I can't stop thinking about these idiots in the snow. Title from Blackout by Swing Set. Which I thought had worked its way onto my Spotify by chance, but is actually on the ST soundtrack.  
> Posted this first one on Tumblr a while back, two more to follow :)

The waiting around never got any easier. All the times they'd dealt with this shit, and the minutes never ticked away any quicker, the tension never let up, the fear never got any less. Waiting around outside was somehow less frustrating, though. Maybe because there were distractions - the cold, a twig snapping, a bird scattering snow off a tree branch - that he didn't get inside, staring at the same four walls and waiting for someone to okay the next move, or for some _thing_ to make the next move whether they were ready for it or not.  
And it turned out that Billy, despite Steve's low expectations, was actually pretty good at waiting around. 

"Can I, uh," Steve nodded to the cigarette held loose between Billy's fingers, "can I get one of those?"

Billy narrowed his eyes at him, but stuck his cigarette between his teeth while he dug his pack of smokes and lighter out of his jacket pocket. His stupidly thin jacket pocket. But he didn't look cold, so Steve didn't comment on it. 

"Thanks."

"You always this edgy, Harrington?" he said as Steve lit up, tiny flame throwing Billy's face into flickering orange for the briefest of moments, making his sharp smile even sharper. "Thought you were meant to be a pro at this shit."

"Yeah, well," Steve blew the smoke out hard, enjoying the burn in the cold night air, "not the sort of thing you ever get used to."

They'd been there for upwards of half an hour waiting for the signal, Steve pacing and leaving a small trench behind him in the snow, absently passing his bat back and forth between his hands chapped with cold, while Billy just settled in to lean up against a tree, cool as a fucking cucumber.  
It was only the second time he'd helped them out with Upside Down stuff; the first time being when he'd unintentionally stumbled across them in the middle of busting a stray group of demodogs on the edges of the woods and leapt in to help with barely a second glance. The party hadn't been happy about asking him to do it again, but Max had spoken up for him, and Billy had more muscle than any of the rest of them, and that was that. Privately, Steve thought he probably would have shown up even if they'd told him no. 

"What are you doing later Harrington?"

"What?" Steve stopped his pacing, cigarette halfway to his mouth, to stare at him. He was frowning up between the trees at the sky - it had started to snow again. Only lightly; barely visible flecks, and not much of it finding its way down through the thick pines overhead.

"What are you doing later?" Billy said again, meeting his eye this time, drawn out and careful like Steve was a little slow. 

"I don't know, I - " he shook his head in disbelief. "I guess don't really like to think about it. After, I mean." Billy didn't say anything, just kept looking at him like he was still waiting for an actual answer, so he indulged him. Presuming everything went okay, and no one got hurt too bad, he'd probably just be dropping some of the kids off and heading home. He'd shower, make some food and not eat it, maybe sleep a little from sheer exhaustion. But it wouldn't be long before he was up again, walking from room to room, just checking everything was okay, turning the lights on and off as he went. It was easier, when he'd had Nance. "Just going home, I guess."

"So nothing, then," Billy smirked at him from behind a haze of smoke, tongue swiping over his teeth.

"What's it to you, Hargrove?" Steve said, tying to ignore the odd little twist that brought to his stomach these days in a way it never used to when Billy pushed at his buttons, and flicked away the ash of the end of the cigarette.

"I got a six pack in the back of my car," he said, voice low in the muffled silence of the woods. "Don't really like drinkin' alone."

"Are you - " Steve looked at him, trying to figure out if he was joking, or if it was some kind of messed up plan to get him cut off from everyone else and rough him up again. But no, if he wanted to do that, he could've done it already - they were alone in the woods in the middle of the night, and he was holding a crowbar. Honestly, he didn't think that was it. Whatever, at that point, even a couple of beers with Billy Hargrove still sounded better than what he actually had going on. He slumped, took another drag on the cigarette. "Fine. Sure, why not."

Billy just kept watching him, smiling like he knew something Steve didn't, and on top of everything else that evening, it was plucking his already stretched nerves too far. "Could you please stop - "

 _"Come in Steve,"_ the crackling of the radio cut him off, made him flinch. _"Steve, do you read me?"_

"Yeah Dustin," Steve yanked it out of his jacket pocket, "we're here."

 _"The others are in position. It's time for you to go,"_ Dustin said, hesitated, an empty crackle of static. _"Good luck buddy."_

Steve swallowed. "Thanks. Catch you later, okay?"

_"Yeah. Over and out."_

Steve put the radio back in his pocket, hefted his bat over his shoulder. Billy grinned, wide and dangerous, licked a stray snowflake off his upper lip. Steve found himself grinning back.

"Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's ignore that this is really similar to the last fic I posted okay thanks. Coincidence, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheesy snow fight kisses yo

"Come _on_ Harrington, this is the shittiest snow fort I've ever seen."

"Oh yeah? See many of those in California, did you Hargrove?"

"Less talk, more snow, dipshit."

"The kids are gunna kick our asses," Steve said, shooting a worried glance over the top of their admittedly pretty crappy wall of snow to the virtual fortress the kids were busy building. "Remind me why we said yes to this again?"

"I don't fuckin' know," Billy said, aggressively packing more snow down ready for the impending snow ball fight, "but we're here now and I'm not losing."

"Jesus," Steve muttered, and half-heartedly scooped up another handful of snow.

Predictably, the kids did kick their asses. Mostly through sheer strength of numbers, Steve thought. He and Billy had given them a pretty damn good run for their money - Steve was quick and Billy could get a fair bit of distance behind each snow ball - but their defences were shitty and the kids had swarmed around them like ants. Cold and dripping with melted snow, Steve had eventually managed to get them inside with the promise of making them all some cocoa. He could never get it quite right and it would probably be lumpy as hell, but if he put enough marshmallows in they might not complain too much. then it was just he and Billy left out in the snow, catching their breath.

"Hey," Steve said, "we should head inside before they - _fuck!"_

Billy shoved a fistful of snow down the back of his neck, freezing cold clumps of it tickling all down his back, and he madly shook at his jacket to try and get it out. "You dickhead!" He ducked to grab a handful of snow and squash it quickly into a rough ball, hurling at Billy while he was still distracted, cackling at the look on Steve's face. 

"Shit!" The snowball hit Billy squarely on the side of the face with a satisfying smack before it crumbled away, leaving snow in his hair and on his jacket collar. They couldn't convince him to wear a hat. He blinked at Steve, face hilariously outraged, before he broke into a smirk. "It's _on,_ Harrington."

He lunged at him, flinging his arms round Steve's neck in a headlock. The both of them were laughing too hard for it to stick long though, and they grappled around for a moment before they tripped over the sad remains of their snow defences that had been decimated by the kids, and landed roughly in the snow. 

"Christ Hargrove, you're heavy," Steve said, still laughing and a bit winded with half of Billy's weight on top of him. Billy didn't answer. He was just looking down at Steve, cheeks and nose pink from the cold, and clumps of snow still in his hair. He'd probably be mad about that later - both of them were total babies when it came to snow messing up their hair, according to the kids. Steve could feel the heat of his breath on his lips. Billy was leaning forward, eyes half closed and mouth parted, and Steve felt himself tilting his head - 

Then Billy was pushing himself up, standing above Steve and looking to a spot in the snow just off to the side of him, offering him a hand. "We should... I mean, those asshole kids have probably destroyed your kitchen by now."

"Uh, yeah," Steve said, trying to recover from the sudden turnaround, "yeah sure." He took Billy's offered hand, red and sore-looking, because he also refused to wear gloves. Apart from those dumb fingerless ones that he'd left behind in his car.

Once Steve was on his feet again, they both quickly brushed off any loose snow still clinging to them, not quite meeting each other's eyes. Billy shot him one last little curious look, before he turned to head back to the house. Before he could let himself think on it too hard, Steve reached out and grabbed hold of his wrist, hauling him back towards him. Stupid maybe, and definitely rash, but he wanted Billy to look at him like had just a few moments ago again. Billy looked affronted for all of two seconds, before Steve swallowed any remaining misgivings and kissed him.

He heard Billy's surprised little intake of breath, felt the hitch in his throat when Steve's lips met his. Their noses were cold, joltingly so when Billy's nose brushed his cheek, lips dry from the cold, snowy air. Billy kissed him back, quick, hard, presses of lips that got harder to keep up with the both of them fighting back smiles.

There was a crash from the open kitchen window, and they broke apart.

"We'd better go and," Steve gestured to the kitchen, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck and swallowing against the sudden dryness of his throat, "go and see what those little bastards have broken."

"Sure," Billy said, still grinning, flushed in the face and snow in his hair, and followed Steve back into the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more to come :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is shorter than I planned but hey I have like twelve other things I want to be writing rn, enjoy the floof.

They'd fallen asleep for a while that afternoon. Steve was always out like a light right after sex - which Billy had found hilarious when he'd found out - though not usually for very long. He was awake again now, on his back against the pillows, and watching the shifting light behind the half-pulled curtains. Billy was still asleep, snoozing with his head on Steve's belly, Steve absently tangling his fingers up in his hair. It was... new, that kind of closeness, Billy letting himself be so vulnerable around Steve, and vice versa. But it was nice, to be curled up warm and drowsing with another person in his bed again. The afternoon was getting later, still light though barely, the weird yellow-grey-brown sky that came with heavy snowfall. It was falling again now, filling in the shovelled driveways and banking the drifts already there up even higher.   
He looked back down to Billy. There was a cut on his chin from their last run in with demodogs, scabbed over and healing, still pink at the edges. Steve's finger got caught in his curls and he tugged it loose a littler harder than he meant to, making Billy shift around under the sheets, letting out a small soft noise of discomfort. He nudged a bruise on Steve's side when he moved, still tender despite it being left there over a week ago by the very same band of demodogs. Steve flinched, the jerk of him underneath Billy causing him to stir awake, smiling sleepily up at Steve when he remembered where he was, and kissed his belly. 

"You'll have to go soon," Steve said, eyes drifting back to the window. Snow was falling thicker, still and calm in that odd, muffled, silence. If he stayed much longer, driving home would dangerous at best and impossible at worst, and Steve knew enough about Billy's dad to know he wouldn't appreciate Billy missing his curfew, snow or no snow. "I wish you didn't."

"Yeah well," said Billy, with a bit more bite than Steve thought he deserved, face turned sharp and scrunched up with anger, "neither do I, but shit happens, Harrington." 

"Billy, I know your dad isn't..." he hesitated. They were still working it all out, and he wasn't sure how much of it was really his business, as much as he wanted it to be. "I'll never ask you not to be mad baby, but don't be mad at me. Please? You know I want you to stay as much as you do."

Billy's face softened again, and he slumped in defeat back down onto Steve."'M sorry," he mumbled into Steve's hip, fingers gone tight in the sheets.

"Don't be. It's okay." Billy got angry sometimes. He had done when they hated each other, and when they ignored each other, then when they started to be friends, and he still did now. Not as much, sure, but it wasn't like it was just going to go away now they were... together. From what little snippets he'd heard from Max or the kids or Billy himself about things in the Hargrove household, he couldn't really say he blamed him. It was fifty-fifty, depending on what was eating him, whether Billy would push Steve away or pull him closer. Though fifty-fifty wasn't quite right - it was more likely to be the second one. 

"I'll uh, be right back," Steve said, peeling Billy away from him so he could get up and go to the bathroom.

"Nah," Billy said, wrapped his arm tighter around Steve's middle.

"I have to pee."

"You can't. It's snowing and cold as fuck outside, we've gotta stay here and huddle up for warmth, that's basic survival Harrington, come on."

"Hmm," Steve stopped wriggling, let Billy wrap himself around him. "You _are_ pretty shitty in cold weather, Hargrove. Maybe I'd better stay here and keep an eye on you."

Billy grinned at him in triumph, before his face fell a little, and he sighed into the blankets. "You're right though. I probably should go soon."

"Mm." They knew it, but that didn't make either of them any more enthusiastic about it.

"Better make the most of the time we do have then, huh sweetheart?" Billy flashed his teeth, before kissing his way softly sweetly up Steve's belly, to his chest, sucked long and gentle at a nipple, nosed at his neck and jaw, pressed their lips together in a soft, dry kiss. Steve hauled him in to kiss him deeper. 

They were still in the early days, getting to know each other in a way different again to what they'd gotten used to as friends, to be able to kiss whenever they liked - when they were alone anyway - and to touch whenever they wanted in a way that wasn't all teasing, a show, a front. It hadn't taken Steve long to figure out that Billy would look for and lean into his touches like a cat; he found himself reaching out for him more just to see him do it. They'd shared a smoke by the open back door earlier; fingers toes and noses nipped at and pink with cold, Billy's chin on Steve's shoulder and hot front pressed tight along his back, passing the cigarette back and forth between cold-clumsy hands, and Steve thought it was quite possibly the best ten minutes of his year so far.

"I've got to go," Billy said eventually, half lost in Steve's lips.

"Yeah," Steve stretched up to steal another kiss. "You'll come back tomorrow? If you can."

Billy smiled at him, soft and sideways and hair in his eyes. "For as long as you'll have me, baby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at all my other headcanons creeping on in here.


End file.
